Military spending as a share of GDP in Malaysia
Malaysia: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.9% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
0.9%
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
125th
of 172 countries
All-time high
4.5%
in 1982
All-time low
0.9%
in 2018
Years of data
63
1957–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Malaysia, 1957–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2019, military spending as a share of gdp in Malaysia stood at 0.9%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and down 33.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Malaysia peaked at 4.5% in 1982 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2018.
That places Malaysia 125th out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 2.1% | — |
| 1958 | 2.1% | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 1.7% | -19.0% |
| 1960 | 1.5% | -11.3% |
| 1961 | 1.3% | -14.5% |
| 1962 | 1.4% | +3.4% |
| 1963 | 1.5% | +13.9% |
| 1964 | 2.0% | +28.2% |
| 1965 | 2.5% | +25.8% |
| 1966 | 2.7% | +7.4% |
| 1967 | 2.5% | -5.3% |
| 1968 | 2.5% | -2.2% |
| 1969 | 2.3% | -5.2% |
| 1970 | 2.5% | +6.0% |
| 1971 | 2.7% | +9.1% |
| 1972 | 3.4% | +25.4% |
| 1973 | 2.9% | -14.1% |
| 1974 | 2.9% | -0.8% |
| 1975 | 3.0% | +3.4% |
| 1976 | 2.6% | -14.2% |
| 1977 | 3.0% | +17.1% |
| 1978 | 3.0% | -0.9% |
| 1979 | 3.4% | +14.8% |
| 1980 | 4.0% | +17.6% |
| 1981 | 4.5% | +11.0% |
| 1982 | 4.5% | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 3.6% | -20.6% |
| 1984 | 2.8% | -20.8% |
| 1985 | 2.8% | -3.0% |
| 1986 | 2.4% | -12.8% |
| 1987 | 2.2% | -7.4% |
| 1988 | 2.0% | -10.1% |
| 1989 | 1.9% | -6.4% |
| 1990 | 1.9% | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 2.2% | +14.8% |
| 1992 | 2.5% | +12.5% |
| 1993 | 2.5% | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 2.3% | -7.5% |
| 1995 | 2.3% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 2.1% | -8.3% |
| 1997 | 1.8% | -14.8% |
| 1998 | 1.5% | -19.2% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | +6.2% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 1.5% | +3.8% |
| 2002 | 1.5% | -5.2% |
| 2003 | 1.5% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 1.4% | -7.5% |
| 2006 | 1.4% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 1.5% | +5.4% |
| 2008 | 1.5% | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | -7.7% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | -4.3% |
| 2013 | 1.3% | +4.1% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | -4.9% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | -6.5% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -15.9% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | -4.1% |
| 2018 | 0.9% | -6.8% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | +1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.0% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 3 |
| 1960s | 2.0% | 1.3% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.9% | 2.5% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.1% | 1.9% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.1% | 1.5% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More economy & growth data for Malaysia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 3.04 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 3.97 Percent per annum (2029)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 11,100 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 7.88 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.3567 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 4,681 current US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), annual 1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 1.53 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 20,056 current LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 4.53 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Malaysia?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Malaysia was 0.9% in 2019, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 4.5% in 1982.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2018.
- How does Malaysia rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Malaysia ranks 125th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).